Have you got any ideas on how to give a new lease of life to this picturesque bowling green and pavilion in the heart of Newcastle?
Brandling Park Bowling Club, in Brandling Park, Jesmond, closed in autumn 2017 after 130 years. The club’s membership dwindled to a dozen players, leading it to fold and hand the keys back to the city council.
Now, the council wants your thoughts on what to do with the green and pavilion. It is asking resident groups and organisations to come up with a new way of using the site, as long as the idea creates “something extra special” for the community.
Coun Kim McGuinness, cabinet member for culture, sport and public health at Newcastle City Council, said: “This is an exciting opportunity for someone to create something extra special for the local community. The bowling green and pavilions provide a great opportunity for an individual or group to come up with a wonderful idea that will benefit both residents and visitors to Newcastle.”
In recent years, Newcastle’s park and civic buildings have been given a new lease of life, as cafes, restaurants and venues.
A short walk from Brandling Park, through the subway to Exhibition Park, leads to Wylam Brewery. The popular craft brewers took over a former museum on the site and have revived it into a thriving venue. In Leazes Park, Tower Cafe sells homemade pizzas out of Richardson Road Lodge. Heaton Park’s pavilion houses a branch of the Sambuca Italian restaurant chain.
Elsewhere in the city, the council has received plans to transform the former Bigg Market public toilets into a wine bar.
Bidders will have to show how their idea will redevelop and refurbish the pavilion’s building and grounds, as a complete package. Any development will be subject to planning permission.
Relevant information can be downloaded from the “others” section of the following web link www.newcastle.gov.uk/communityassets and the closing date for submissions is July 6.
